


Noctober

by creative_frequency



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Marriage, Married Couple, Romance, Silly, Teen Romance, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, Wedding Planning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-03
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-08 17:57:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 11,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12259272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/creative_frequency/pseuds/creative_frequency
Summary: Series of positive individual drabbles for #noctober!





	1. The Prince

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt list can be found [here](http://niuniente.tumblr.com/post/165909497463/noctober-2017-starts-tomorrow-you-are-free-to).  
> All my ffxv stuff [@tumblr](http://creative-frequency.tumblr.com).

The esteemed crown prince of Lucis, Noctis Lucis Caelum, had never been one to admit defeat. In fact, he was a sore loser and extremely bad in accepting his downfall, be it in video games or combat.

So when you stood next to him, hand reached out to help him up, he had no other choice but to continue the struggle.

“Wha–“ you yelped in surprise, but the prince had already swept you off your feet and you had tumbled on the floor, your earlier positions very much reversed.

“Noct!” you breathed out and began laughing with your hands over your stomach. The unrestrained chuckles made your body bounce lightly.

Noctis was on his knees next to you, about to restrain your arms from any counter attack you might muster up. His expression was puzzled.

“What are you laughing at?” he asked bemused, slight irritation in his voice.

You looked at him, expression filled with mirth.

“You just can’t give up, do you?” you asked and your giggles still echoed in the training room.

Noctis scoffed and got up, leaving you to hum amusedly on the floor.

“Hey, aren’t you gonna help me up? Jeez…”

You knew the crown prince of Lucis very well and you were sorely aware of the fact that his pride would never allow any other outcome than his indisputable victory in sparring matches.


	2. Insomnia

“When was the last time you walked the streets of your city in peace?” you asked. Your voice was almost a content purr as you clung to the king’s arm, heart beating fast in excitement.

“I can’t even remember…” Noctis admitted. He was wearing the most un-regal clothes you had found on the department store sale: Sneakers, jeans and a cardigan with t-shirt underneath it. For “disguise” he had a cap and fake glasses on.

Still, he looked nothing if not divinely handsome and you were a bit worried that he would still be recognized.

“So what do you want to do?” you asked curiously. Leaving the Citadel by foot had been strange enough, but taking the subway to the park district had been even weirder; the kind of weirder that you could get used to. It was not so bad having the king all to yourself for a change.

“You know the city streets better than I do these days. Could you show me around?” Noctis asked softly as he held your gaze.

“Sure. I’ll give you the most commoner-like tour you could ever hope for,” you promised with a smile.

“Well, as long as I’m with you,” Noctis said and pecked your lips.

Complacent from the sudden kiss and with a promise for more, you began to pace through the park, taking your time without a care in the world.


	3. Vegetables

You thought you were sneaky. You thought you could fool the price of Lucis. You thought you could make him like, or at least eat, vegetables by disguising them with spices.

The slight creasing of brows and skillful hand picking out the carrot and onion pieces from the plateful of stew proved you wrong.

Maybe you should have listened to Ignis when he had told you that he had tried it _all_ already. However, you possessed some leverage Ignis didn’t.

“What’s wrong? Is it too spicy?” you asked with a barely held back frown.

You were fairly certain of the inner turmoil going on inside Noctis – he didn’t want to upset you by not eating your cooking, but neither did he want to eat the veggies.

“Uh, no, it’s good. I just–“

“Noct. Eat them. Seriously. You won’t notice the difference in your mouth thanks to the chili.”

Noctis pursed his lips together. “It’s not the taste, it’s the texture… It’s just... uff.”

You got up from your seat and circled around the table to behind him. You placed your hands on his shoulders and let your palms run down over his chest.

Noctis grunted. He knew what you were doing. Again. It was not the first time nor would it be the last.

“You know the drill; I’ll give you something good as dessert,” you purred into his ear, inciting a shaky sigh from the prince.

“Alright,” Noctis replied begrudgingly.

You returned to your seat to watch as his plate emptied and the vegetables disappeared behind the unsatisfied frown, piece by piece.


	4. Fashion

Your heart was thumping inside your chest, fluttering like the wings of a little bird. The rush of blood was loud in your ears and you could barely understand the gesture the assistant was showing you.

_“You’re next!”_

You probably had never been so nervous in your life. You wanted to throw up and run away, but you had a promise to keep. You couldn’t back down now.

One last look in the tall mirror and a deep inhale gave you enough confidence to make your legs move.

You took a step. Then another.

You looked absolutely gorgeous in the creation you had been dressed in. Like a living sparkle of a star.

_“It’s just a small show, you’ll do just fine! Please, please, please?”_

_A sigh. “…Alright then. I’ll help you out,”_ you had heard yourself saying.

The idea of becoming a catwalk model for just one night was alluring no doubt, but with less than 24 hours to prepare for your modeling debut certainly made it a… unique experience.

You took another deep breath to calm your nerves and walked forward as confidently as you could; trying to remember all the pointers you had been told for the past few hours.

Your eyes flew inconspicuously over the audience sitting just a few paces away from you.

_“W-what? Modeling? You sure– I mean, can I come look?”_

Noctis had been completely dumbfounded after hearing about your plans.

But there he was now and his face lit up as your eyes met. He offered you an encouraging smile.

_“You’re gonna be amazing,”_ Noctis had said. And that was what his smile was telling you now.

Your stroll through the catwalk was over before you knew it. Your breathing had calmed down and your pulse somewhat returned to normal.

“How did I look?” you asked from Noctis as soon as you got ahold of him.

“Breathtaking – as always.” He gave you a quick embrace. “You’re the bravest person I know.”

“Or the stupidest.”

You both laughed and Noctis took your hand to guide you out of the venue.


	5. AU Setting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Modern University AU Setting, same as my fic Glances with Ravus x Fem!Reader

**Prompto (** **☞ﾟヮﾟ** **)** **☞** **  
** Hey guys

 **Noctgar  
** PROMPTO ASKED HER OUT

 **Gladio  
** What

 **Prompto (** **☞ﾟヮﾟ** **)** **☞**  
THANKS NOCT.

 **Ignis Scientia  
**?

 **Eve  
** omg niiice Prom!

 **Prompto (** **☞ﾟヮﾟ** **)** **☞** **  
** OTL

 **Gladio  
** That bad huh?

 **Noctgar  
** LOL

 **Eve  
** What did she say?

 **Ignis Scientia  
** What did you say to her?

 **Prompto (** **☞ﾟヮﾟ** **)** **☞**  
Well  
She said  
“aw you’re so sweet! thanks!”  
TT___TT

 **Eve  
** Need a shoulder to cry on? :(

 **Noctgar  
** Hey???

 **Ignis Scientia  
** I’m sorry, Prompto

 **Gladio  
** Man that sucks

 **Prompto (** **☞ﾟヮﾟ** **)** **☞**  
Thanks guys, but I’m ok. It was a long shot anyway

 **Eve  
** Wanna grab a coffee later to talk about it?

 **Prompto (** **☞** **ﾟヮﾟ** **)** **☞** **  
** Sure. I’ll text you

 **Noctgar  
** Eve we have that thing today

 **Eve**  
Okay nice! ^^  
Hmm?

 **Gladio  
** That thing?? Please talk about your things in private;;;

 **Eve  
** Pffft Gladio pls

 **Noctgar  
** You promised to help me out

 **Prompto (** **☞ﾟヮﾟ** **)** **☞** **  
** With what? ò_Ô

 **Eve**  
AH right  
Totally forgot loll  
Sorry Prom :(

 **Ignis Scientia  
** Noct where are you? The lecture will start in 5

 **Prompto (** **☞ﾟヮﾟ** **)** **☞** **  
** Dw it’s okay! Tomorrow?

 **Noctgar  
** omw

 **Eve  
** Soundsaa   good!

“Noct, let me finish this text,” Eve pleaded, trying to keep the phone away from Noctis’s reach and type without mistakes.

“I’ve got only five minutes, so,” Noctis said. His other arm circled around her waist and the other pushed her phone-holding hand away from her field of vision.

“I know– mmm…”

Noctis’s lips traced Eve’s jaw, slowly making her give up the texting and focus completely on him.

“What was the thing we had today?” Eve suddenly asked between kisses.

“Uh, that thing? Umm, I thought maybe I could come over for some Chocoflix and chill?”

Eve chuckled. Good thing she lived on her own. “But mostly for chill, right?”

“We’ll see,” Noctis replied with a charming smirk.


	6. Excitement

Noctis was walking as fast as he could without raising any unwanted attention. The route was familiar to him – turn left from the subway station, right on the third crossing, a few blocks forward to the second white brick building.

His feet carried him up the stairs two at a time and he was already panting from the mixture of exertion and excitement. The steps echoed in the empty staircase.

By the time Noctis reached your apartment door on the third floor, he had to take a moment to stabilize his breathing and lean on his knees. His heart was thumping in his ears and an eager wide smile was blooming on his lips.

He had waited for this for so long. It had been weeks already.

Noctis knocked on your door. He was practically shaking from the excitement.

Seconds passed. He knocked again.

“Just a moment!” you shouted through the door.

Seconds turned into a full minute. Noctis was getting anxious.

Then the door opened with a click.

“Hi,” you greeted the prince with a beam.

“Hey, where’s–” Noctis asked as he stepped over the threshold, but his question was cut short by the clipping of small nails against the floor.

He instantly fell on his knees.

“Hello there! Look at you! It’s nice to meet you, I’m Noctis,” he cooed as his hands welcomed the eager puppy with scratches.

You rolled your eyes and chuckled gently before settling on the floor next to Noctis.


	7. Music

”What about this–”

”No.”

”You sure–?”

“I’m sure, Prompto. Next.”

You paced back and forth, head slightly nodding in rhythm with the music. Noctis was sitting at the table, looking complacently at you from beneath his lashes. The large table was scattered with papers, lists, memos, examples of color schemes, images of flower bouquets and cakes, and just about everything that could possibly be needed when planning a wedding.

Your wedding.

Your _royal_ wedding.

“I kinda like this one,” you said and paused to glance at your future husband. “What do you think?”

“Mmm.” Noctis still looked to be half-asleep.

“That’s not an answer,” you retorted and your brows knitted together in frustration.

Noctis sighed, but smiled then. “The wedding planner from Altissia will be here tomorrow, we could just–“

“No. We have the suggestions she sent already. I want to do something about this now.”

Noctis eyed you carefully. “Prom, give us a moment.”

“Sure, I’ll go grab some snacks for us,” the blonde said, no doubt happy to get away from the influence of your current mood. He paused the music and left the room.

“Come here,” Noctis called softly and opened his arms.

You obeyed begrudgingly, letting him to pull you to his lap.

“Now, what’s wrong?” Noctis asked. He had that smile on his face. The one you loved so much. It was more of a half-smirk; knowing and boyish. His eyes were so bright and full of life, and to think that only a year ago you had thought that you had lost him forever.

“…I’m nervous about the wedding,” you admitted. There was so much to say and most of it you had already talked through. Noctis wanted you to become his queen. You had nothing to be afraid of.

His arms coiled around you, pulling you into an embrace.

“So am I. But everything’s gonna be alright,” Noctis assured quietly into your ear.

You give him a peck on the lips, but before you could pull away and form a word, the king had stood up and hoisted you on the table, not letting you escape the kiss.

“You’re messing up-aaah… the planning-hhhhnnghh… papers,” you managed to mumble against his mouth.

Noctis swept the papers to the floor, earning a frown from you.

“I don’t care. Right now, I want to make a mess of you.”

Who were you to deny your king’s will?


	8. Camping

”Camping sucks when it rains.”

“Less whining, more working,” Gladio quipped back at the sulking prince.

Your hair was dripping wet. All of your clothes were positively drenched. Prompto was the only one who could keep up a somewhat positive mood and even his constant smile was faltering due to the circumstances.

You kept unpacking your camping supplies as hastily as you could and realized something.

“Guys? We have only one heater, so…” you began tentatively and hoped that Ignis would magically come up with a passable solution.

Your traveling companions traded looks with furrowed brows.

“Well, if it doesn’t bother you, you should come to sleep in our tent,” Ignis suggested slowly and nudged his glasses upwards. They kept slipping from his bridge because of the heavy rain.

You shifted uncomfortably on your feet. “S-sure, if that’s okay with you all.” You stole a glance at Noctis, whose cheeks had gained a light pink shade.

“Of course. I suppose there’s no need to build the other tent then,” Ignis replied and managed to conjure an assuring smile to you.

When the camp was up and ready, all five of you crammed inside the tent. The mood was gloomy. At least the guys had offered you the chance to change into something dry alone.

The heater was emanating its blessed warmth in the middle of the tent. Prompto and Ignis were playing cards, Gladio was reading and Noctis was browsing his phone. You sat as casually as you could next to him.

“Whatchu doing?” you whispered. It was impossible to speak so quietly in the small space that the others wouldn’t hear.

“I was gonna play a bit,” Noctis replied – a bit too coolly. The side of your thigh was against his and you were extremely aware of the warmth radiating through his sweats.

“King’s Knight? Can I watch?” you asked peering at his phone screen. You leaned closer and your sides brushed together. You really didn’t want to watch him play King’s Knight, but you had missed the feel of his body against yours.

“S-sure.”

You placed your chin on Noctis’s shoulder and stared drowsily at the screen.


	9. Someone

You glanced at the map on your phone screen and stopped to look at the building in front of you. Your aunt had recently moved into a new apartment and you finally had the time to go visit her. The building looked… nice? Pretty normal for a block of flats in central Insomnia. The rent must have been insane, but that was not really your concern anyway.

You felt a pair of sharp eyes on you, and took a cautious glance at the man in a black suit, who was standing by the front door. He had an ear piece and sunglasses on. _How quaint_ , you thought. Was it normal for an apartment building to have security guard posted outside? You really didn’t know. But it seemed that he was not going to stop you when you walked to the door.

At the same time as you rode the elevator up to get to the correct floor, the crown prince of Insomnia was sitting by his dinner table, eyes fixated on his math notes.

Noctis let out a weary groan. Not that he was bad at math, quite the contrary actually, but he really didn’t feel like studying. The new console game he had bought a few days prior was burning in his mind, waiting to be played.

Then the doorbell rang. The sound echoed in the silent apartment.

Noctis furrowed his brows in irritation. There was someone at the door? What a pain. He wasn’t expecting anyone, so he decided to wait a bit. Ignis had his own keys and Prompto would start yelling if the door wouldn’t be open in a minute.

You pressed the doorbell button again and searched around once more to confirm that, yes; there was no name on the door. You were almost absolutely certain that you had the right apartment.

Noctis got up from his seat and paced to the door.

You could hear the faint steps and rustling as someone came closer. Fiddling with the housewarming gift in a bag in your hands, you braced yourself with a wide smile. You repeated the greeting words in your mind: _It’s good to see you, aunt!_

Noctis stopped to look through the peephole and his eyes widened at seeing you behind the door – beaming nervously. He racked his brain. Did he know you from somewhere? Maybe you were classmates? You didn’t look familiar at all. He used barely a second to think what Ignis would do before opening the door.

Simultaneously as the lock clicked open, you accidentally dropped the bag in your hands. Quickly, you crouched to pick it up, saying:

“It’s good to see you–“

You straightened up. “–Aunt.”

You were staring straight into the utterly confused face of the Lucian prince.

You let out a tiny squeak and dropped the bag again. Good thing it was nothing fragile.

“…Aunt?” Noctis asked blue eyes following curiously as you took refuge from staring at him by squatting again.

He looked just like the prince. You had seen him on the television. Was he really him? What was he doing at your aunt’s apartment? Wait, you probably had the wrong door… Did he actually live there? Oh dear.

As your thoughts ran rampantly through your mind, you gaped at the prince, void of anything sensible to say.

“Did you just… call me ‘aunt’?” Noctis asked again, this time a bit amusedly. Yes, you had been told you looked hilarious when you stared right at freaking Lucian royalty.

“I’m terribly sorry!” you breathed, “I have the wrong door, or apparently I do; why are there no names or anything on it? It would make things much easier, y’know, to avoid stuff like this”–you chuckled dryly, motioning towards the prince–“You should write that _‘the prince lives here, beware!’_ on it. Or something. Uh, not that I mean anything by it. It was just a joke and I… I’m rambling again.”

Noctis leaned on the doorframe with arms crossed on his chest and a grin on his face. You cheeks felt hot, but you couldn’t take your eyes off him. _He was so damn gorgeous_. It was like seeing a unicorn.

“No need to apologize, everything’s cool,” Noctis assured. He was scanning over you, but you were still entranced by his facial features. You were completely star struck. “Uh, did you need something or?”

“No, umm, I’m gonna go… I came to visit my aunt, who lives here somewhere,” you offered as an explanation and took a shaky step backward.

“Hm? That’s probably the next door,” Noctis said and nodded towards the right direction.

“Right. Thanks,” you said in a meek tone, “and I’m really sorry about, uh, interrupting your… your… whatever it is that prince’s do.” Another nervous, hollow chuckle followed your words and you had to hold back to not actually blurt out the question of _what indeed did the prince do at home_.

“It’s okay. I hate math anyway,” Noctis replied with a short laugh of his own. His eyes darted away from you, as if he had said something embarrassing.

“Oh? Hehe, well good luck on your studies then,” you wished half-automatically and managed to find a short smile to flash.

Noctis smiled back at you and you wanted to squeal again, but only did so internally.

“Thanks.” Noctis cleared his throat and shifted on his feet.

You looked at each other. You were already standing a bit too far for a comfortable conversing distance and tried to find the words to excuse yourself and leave. You really didn’t want to go, but it would’ve been awkward to just stand there and small talk.

“So, uhh…” Noctis began.

“I, umm… will go now,” you motioned towards the direction of the right apartment door. Your feet were frozen in place.

“Yeah. Maybe, uh, m-maybe I’ll see you around,” Noctis said sheepishly and your heart jumped at hearing his voice stammer a bit.

A warm flush washed over your body. Your cheeks suddenly began to hurt from smiling and your pulse was soaring through the roof.

“Yeah, I hope so. Um… bye then.” You turned as quickly as you could and skittered to the next door. You didn’t hear the prince closing his apartment door and could feel his eyes still on you.

You pressed the doorbell and prayed that your aunt would come open soon. You stubbornly kept your gaze fixated forward and tried to ignore your burning ears. You were fiddling with the gift bag again.

As the door opened with a muted clack and you heard the rehearsed greeting tumbling from your mouth, you turned slightly to catch a glimpse of the prince’s door that had just closed.

Noctis flopped down on the chair and pulled his math notes closer. Maybe your good luck wish had been just what he had needed for motivation. He surely wouldn’t mind to hear it again in the future.


	10. Fave Ship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is sort of an AU thing of my fic Bad for Me, where Eve doesn't end up with Nyx.

Eve threw her bag on her shoulder and paced out of the locker room. Every muscle in her body was either aching from pain or just sore. The last deployment had been longer than expected and the shower in the Kingsglaive headquarters had never felt sweeter.

She fished her phone out of her bag to check for the message she surely would’ve received. News travelled fast in the Citadel and Noctis would’ve heard of their return by now.

_“Come over.”_

Eve’s lips curled into a smile. At least the way to the prince’s apartment was shorter than to her place.

Fifteen minutes later, Eve greeted the familiar Crownsguard member standing at the building’s front door. There was nothing suspicious at all of her visiting her dear friend, the crown prince of Lucis. At least that’s what she hopefully thought every time she walked into that elevator.

Eve knocked on the apartment door and it opened so fast that she was startled.

“Hey,” Noctis said breathily, bright blue eyes staring into hers.

“Hi,” Eve greeted. She could hear the pause menu music from that game he always played. Her smile bloomed once again.

Noctis gave her room to step inside and closed the door. “Are you okay?” he asked instantly, gaze scanning over Eve as she took off her shoes and jacket.

“Yeah. I’m in one piece.”

With only a vest top on, the bruises on her arms were revealed. Noctis frowned at the sight. It was not uncommon for Eve to return from deployment with some place covered in bandages, so this was minor compared to that.

“Want something to drink?”

“Sure.”

Eve leaned at the kitchen counter and Noctis opened a can of soda and passed it to her.

“Thanks… So what did you do while I was away?” she asked nonchalantly.

Noctis sipped his drink. “I beat Gladio’s ass in the training room.”

Eve snorted and rolled her eyes. “Right. You’ve gotten better at lying, I guess. Still can’t fool me though.”

“Oh, yeah? I suppose that happens when you take a secret lover,” Noctis said smirking. His eyes got that playful glint in them and he placed his soda on the counter.

“Mm. The prince’s secret lover. What a title,” Eve hummed amusedly.

Noctis circled his arms around her waist. Eve leaned her forehead against his and inhaled slowly. His familiar scent was calming, but it also sparked a hungry fire inside her.

“You have no idea how much I missed you,” Noctis murmured, “I always do.”

Eve bit her lip. “I’ll always come back to you.”

“You better,” Noctis whispered and pressed his lips on hers.


	11. Future

“Say Noct, you’ll be a king in the future… Right?” you asked cautiously after a moment’s silence.

“That’s right,” the prince replied. He didn’t really want to think about something so heavy in that moment. Everything was so peaceful.

“Hmm,” was your reaction. You could sense his reluctance to talk about the subject, so you didn’t push it further.

“So what do you want from the future?” Noctis eyes turned to you as the question escaped his lips.

You shrugged at first. You hadn’t really thought about it. Your future seemed really insignificant compared to his.

“I guess I want to finish high school,” you replied tentatively. You could feel Noctis turn back to look at the stars. The grass felt cool and a bit damp from the night underneath you, but Noctis’s side was warm against yours. Your hands rested on your stomach and your eyes searched the dark, star-littered sky.

“Yeah, but like on the long run? Do you have a dream career? Stuff like that,” he inquired.

You hummed while thinking. “Hm. Not really… I’d like to travel before settling down. Then get a dog or a cat, maybe have kids. Y’know, the basics.”

“The basics, yeah…” you could feel the prince’s chest heave with a sigh.

“What?” you asked cautiously. You hadn’t meant to upset him and his weary sigh made you slightly concerned.

“Nothing. So you want to have a family?” Noctis asked. He kept his gaze fixated on the stars and you glanced at him. He was smiling and your heart felt lighter.

“I think so. But first, I need to find _the one_ ,” you replied and let out a soft giggle.

“The one?” Noctis repeated questioningly and his brows creased.

“Need someone to start the family _with_ , y’know,” you explained as casually as you could, but you couldn’t help the blush creeping to warm your cheeks.

Noctis didn’t say anything, so you turned your head to see him bite his lip.

“What is it, Noct?”

“You don’t think… you’ve already found the one?” he asked quietly.

Your face flushed in an instant all the way up to your ears, causing them to burn. “W-why do you think that?”

Noctis turned on his side to lean on his elbow. He had a charming smirk on his face – the telltale sign that he was teasing you.

“Let a guy hope,” he said and you smacked his arm, face red as a Gralean beetroot.


	12. Fear

One hour and twenty-six minutes. That was the exact amount of time you spent more or less wringing Noctis’s arm. Several times he had to whisper to you to ease your grip because his fingers were starting to prickle from the loss of circulation.

Also you probably spent more time starting at his shoulder and focused profile than the actual screen. Had you had more hands, you would’ve covered both of you ears too.

Horror movies really were not your thing. What on Eos had gone through your mind when you had agreed to this. You should’ve known better.

As you walked out of the movie theater, arm locked tightly around your boyfriend’s, you were shaking.

“You should’ve told me you don’t like horror movies,” Noctis said. You couldn’t distinguish the different between amusement and concern in his tone. He threw a cautious glance at you.

“I just don’t like zombies. That’s all,” you replied in a tiny voice. You probably wouldn’t sleep for the next week.

“You’re afraid of zombies?” Noctis repeated incredulously.

“Uh-huh,” you mumbled and took a deep breath, “Gimme all the blood and gore and whatnot, but let the dead fucking stay dead!”

Noctis laughed halfheartedly at your small outburst. “I promise I’ll protect you from all the living dead.” His tone was very assuring and a smile began tugging his corners upwards.

You gazed sheepishly at him. “Does that offer include comforting? I’m still shaky.” You managed to load a tiny bit of seduction into your tone.

Noctis smirked at you, moving your hand into his and then intertwined your fingers. “All night long, babe.”


	13. Astral

Gladio was giving you a piercing, meaningful stare from the other side of the campfire. Prompto and Ignis chewed their food in silence, focusing on their plates. You had “acquired” the Regalia back from the Imperial base and for a moment everything felt fine again. Everyone was safe and sound.

Except that Noctis had gone straight to bed without eating anything, which was alarmingly unlike him. The other guys were extremely worried about him.

You placed your finished meal on the rock and threw a challenging stare back at Gladio. You knew what he was trying to convey, but why did it have to be you? Maybe the answer was because you were the only person on Eos, who could make the prince open up in one of his moods. In a way, you hated your role of the emotional support.

“What?” you hissed quietly, so Noctis wouldn’t hear you if he was awake.

Gladio nodded towards the tent with another meaningful gaze. He should really stop with those looks; someone might get the wrong idea. And how could Ignis make such an approving sound just by clearing his throat? And without even glancing at you? Prompto, on the other hand, looked up at you with a sad frown.

You groaned. “Why me?” you whispered angrily.

All three guys cocked an eyebrow at you.

“Urgh. _Fine._ ”

You got up from the chair and went over to the tent to find out what was wrong with the sleepy prince.

“Noct… Noctis? Are you sleeping?” you hooted before opening the tent zipper and slipping inside.

The prince was laying on his side on a sleeping bag, eyes wide open and hands curled against his chest. He looked like he was sick and your concern for his well-being skyrocketed.

You closed the zipper and crawled next to Noctis. He barely glanced at you.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” you asked quietly so the others wouldn’t hear outside. You placed your hand tentatively on his shoulder. He was warm. Maybe a bit too warm.

“Nothing. I… I just…” his voice trailed off. He sighed.

You lay down in front of him to your side so you could see his face. “Everyone in this camp knows that’s not true, so tell me. Please,” you pleaded.

“I’m just tired. That’s all,” Noctis said evasively.

“Noct, you’re always tired,” you said softly, trying to tease him into spilling the beans.

But he didn’t take the bait. “…Yeah. Sorry.”

You frowned and your eyebrows knitted together with worry. Noctis was behaving really odd. “What are you saying sorry for? Noct?”

He didn’t say anything and was avoiding your gaze. You were racking your brain, trying to think what had happened today that could’ve caused his condition.

“Did something happen to you? Are you injured?” your voice rose a bit with the question and Noctis’s brows furrowed.

“I’m fine.”

“Noct...”

He sighed heavily. “Really. I’m fine. Just really… exhausted.”

“But you can’t sleep?” You huffed a bit in relief. “Well that’s a new one.”

“Something like that.”

You sidled your body closer to his and took his hands. He most likely had a light fever. “Any ideas– Wait… Did _the summoning_ cause this?”

Noctis jolted a bit.

Yeah, you had guessed right. Summoning the Fulgurian’s help in battle had taken its toll on Noctis.

“You should say if you need to rest! We’re here for you. _I’m here for you._ There’s no need to…”–Noctis removed your hands from his and pulled you closer from the waist–“No need to…”

But you couldn’t anymore remember what you were going to say when he pressed his forehead against yours.

“I know. Thanks.”


	14. Kindness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Blood from a nosebleed

“Oh shit! Are you okay?!” You gasped.

Noctis was holding a hand over the side of his nose and crimson red blood was running freely to the floor of the training hall.

“Y-yeah–“ He seemed more shocked than hurt. You felt mild annoyance that he hadn’t seemed to think that you could land a hit on him. Hah.

“H-hold on! I’ll go get something!” You ran to your bag at the side of the room and rummaged through it. Receipts, keys, make up, your phone, oh you had new messages, hair pins… Just when you sorely needed it, you didn’t have a single handkerchief or any sort of tissue with you.

But you had tampons.

You grabbed one, holding it in the air like a rare treasure. It would suit His Highness just fine. You removed the plastic wrapper while running back to Noctis.

“What–“

You cut his protesting short by shoving his hand away, and stuffed the tampon into his bleeding nose – a perfect fit.

Noctis felt the plug in his nose carefully. “Don’t tell me you–“

“Yup.” You couldn’t hold back your grin.

Noctis groaned. At least the bleeding had been stemmed.


	15. Teenager

“Nooooooct! Pass me the bottle!” you chirped as you swayed on your seat.

Prince Noctis gave you a suspicious look, but he complied and offered the almost empty bottle of red wine to you. You raised it to your lips. Noctis was staring at you, so you gave him a dirty wink, causing his face to flush and turn away.

Noctis cleared his throat as you gulped down the last drops of the wine.

“Well, this is no fun!” you squeaked, turning the empty bottle upside down. A small drop flew through the air and stained the carpet in your room. “Ah, shit!” You tried to swipe the stain with your shirt hem. Not the most reasonable action, but your buzzed brain couldn’t come up with anything else.

After the futile effort, you got shakily up from the floor.

“Where are you going?” Noctis asked as you tumbled towards the door.

“I’ll go grab some more,” you turned to say cheerfully, fumbling for the door handle.

Noctis groaned. “Isn’t this enough? You’ll get into trouble.”

You cocked an eyebrow at him. “Well aren’t you the sweetest Noct; worrying about lil ol’ me.”

An endearing blush decorated the prince’s cheeks. His hand flew at his neck. “Don’t you think we’ve had enough? Your parents will flip, when they find out.”

He was right, of course. With a dramatically heavy sigh you pulled your hand back and tottered back to sit on your bed.

“Sooo… What now?” you asked, eyes intently studying Noctis’s blushed cheeks. Damn he looked cute again. When had Noctis started to look like that? Certainly not when you had begun high school together last year.

Noctis shrugged. “Watch a movie or something?”

Your gaze dropped on his lips. They looked so soft.

“Wanna make out?” you blurted. You had not meant to say that. It had just come out on its own, aided by the half bottle of wine in your system.

Noctis’s eyes snapped onto you. His mouth was slightly ajar and brows risen. “Uhh, did you just–“

“NO. Forget it. I said nothing!” you exclaimed. One day you would write a book on how to make things weird with your friends. Cute friends. With a royal title. And the most inviting smile on their lips– Ah, shit.

Before you knew it, your fingers were curling into Noctis’s hair and his breath was warm on your face.

“We’re not doing _it_ while we’re drunk, okay?” you made sure.

“Agreed,” Noctis replied breathily and pulled your face into a sweet first kiss.


	16. Fishing

You sat on the edge of the pier, swinging your legs in the air just above the water surface. Noctis had been at it for almost an hour again and you were bored out of your mind. So much for keeping him company while he fished. He didn’t want to talk, lest the noise would scare the fish away.

Noctis was just reeling in another catch, when the rest of your travelling retinue arrived.

”Puny. Just like yours,” Gladio said with a smirk as the prince pulled the fish up.

You blinked dumbfound. _Puny? PUNY?_

“Hey!” Noctis shouted and shot a glare at his Shield.

Ignis and Prompto chuckled, but you burst into fit of nervous, high-pitched giggles, causing all of the four guys to shut up abruptly and turn to look at you. You slammed your hands on your mouth in horror.

“Sorry!” you yelped in a tiny voice. Noctis was looking at you with very badly concealed quail.

You could’ve said that there was nothing _puny_ in the prince’s pants, but bit your tongue. He wouldn’t die from being laughed at. The others didn’t need to know about your clandestine adventures together.

“Well then, I’ll take these and start preparing for supper,” Ignis said and picked up the bucket with the fishes. Noctis had caught quite a few and they would make and excellent meal in Ignis’s hands.

“I’ll help!” Prompto said happily and skittered after him towards the camp.

Gladio threw one last amused glance at you and Noctis, and went after the two.

Noctis placed his fishing rod on the pier and sighed with furrowed brows.

“Sorry, Noct…” you apologized biting your lip. A silly smile was fighting its way to your lips.

“What was that just now?” he asked. You could see that he was slightly upset from being laughed at.

You shook your head. Noctis walked over to you and sat down. His side pressed against yours.

You flashed him an apologetic smile and looked around that there was no one in sight. Then you leaned in closer.

“Gladio shouldn’t joke about things he knows nothing about,” you purred into Noctis’s ear.

“And I’ll remind you later why you shouldn’t laugh like that,” he husked back in a low voice.

“I’m looking forward to it... Your Highness.” You tugged at his earlobe gently with your teeth, inciting a surprised gasp. You were about to stand up with a smug smile on your face, but Noctis yanked you back down from your wrist.

“Forget later. I’ll just do it now,” he hummed with a grin and pushed you down on the pier.


	17. Dream

You entered the hotel room in Leville as silently as you could. Though you were quite sure that the person inside wouldn’t wake up even if you kicked the door in, you still prayed in your mind that the hinges wouldn’t creak terribly.

With a lingering glance you made sure the prince was still napping on the double bed, partly wrapped in a blanket. His chest was rising and falling slowly in rhythm with his deep, peaceful breaths. His mouth was closed and arms curled under his chin.

You caught a fond smile on your face. _He looks kinda cute._

You gently shook your head and moved into the room to grab what you had come for. Your shoe soles tapped lightly against the wooden floor and Noctis inhaled deeper, but didn’t stir further. You crouched to pick up your bag.

_Now where did I pack it–?_

“You’re pretty.”

Noctis talked loud and clear and you practically jumped out of your skin. Your eyes shot up to fixate on his calm form, trying to distinguish had he woken up or just talked in his sleep, and your heart was hammering in your chest.

His expression hadn’t changed. You blinked.

_He actually… talks in his sleep?_

Before you could let out a relieved breath, Noctis spoke again.

He said your name, followed by a content hum. The hum sounded almost like a moan and you felt a heat rising to your cheeks. Hastily, you rummaged through your bag, trying to block the subsequent sounds from reaching your eardrums. You did not want to think about what Noctis was dreaming about.

Okay, maybe you wanted to think about it a bit, but now was really not the time.

You grabbed the item you had come for and hurried out of the room, letting the door slam shut with more force than necessary. It roused the sleepy prince from his sultry dream and he looked around dumbfound, only to find half of the contents of your bag scattered on the other bed. You could re-pack later.

Images from the dream were burning in Noctis’s mind. He groaned and dragged his palms across his face. He was really glad that you had no way of knowing what he had dreamed about.


	18. Coffee

With a stack of files tucked under your arm, you jogged forward in the Citadel’s corridors. It had been one hell of a week already and there seemed to be no end to the constant hurry. You had barely had time to eat lunch and were running on four hours of sleep.

After passing the papers with upmost hurry to one of the Council secretaries, you took a deep breath and set on returning to the office floor. Half of your brain was in constant state of haze and you had a hard time focusing on anything happening around you. You passed people, greeting them with a professional smile on your face.

You took a turn at the corner and crashed hard into someone.

“Uff!” You barely stayed on your feet and realized there was liquid warmth spreading down your chest.

“Oh shit! Sorry!”

With furrowed brows and a groan you looked at the person who had been equally unaware of his surroundings. His face was steadily blushing and you followed his widened gaze… down to your bosom. Your shirt was becoming increasingly sheer as the coffee stain spread and caused the cloth to plaster on your skin.

And on your bra – clearly revealing the lace to the man’s stare. Before you knew it, your palm had slapped against his cheek, leaving a red stripe in its wake.

Only then you stopped to really look at his incredibly shocked face.

And “…FUCK,” was all you could say.

You had just pervert slapped the crown prince of Lucis. You couldn’t even muster an apology. The words were jammed into your throat as wholesome horror took hold of you. You would lose your job for this – or worse.

“I-I didn’t… mean to stare, I’m sorry,” prince Noctis mumbled, eyes strictly averted from you. His hand rose to feel his red cheek. He looked both dismayed and embarrassed at having received the slap.

Your sense returned.

You bowed and while facing the floor you began rambling: “I am so, so sorry, Your Highness! I didn’t realize–, I just–, _I’m so sorry_ , please forgive me!”

“What–? No, it was my fault! Your blouse is ruined and… and… I-I shouldn’t have stared.” He sounded equally panicky as you. “You work here, right? Do you have any other clothes? You can go home to change, I’ll cover for you–“

You had risen up to look at the prince’s face while kept babbling.

“Yeah… I, uh, have a sweater back in the office… Sorry about your coffee.” You nibbled at your lip as your eyes took in the blushing mess you had reduced the crown prince into. You had always known he was rather handsome, but seeing him stand right in front of you was more dazzling than you could’ve anticipated – and it didn’t help that you had just caught him staring at your boobs.

Noctis’s hand flew into the back of his neck. He took a glance at you and hastily looked away. “That’s great… I… M-maybe I can get you a new one?”

You tilted your head in confusion. “A new… shirt?” you asked slowly.

Noctis huffed and cursed under his breath. “Shit… Uh, I mean a coffee,” he said and lifted his blue gaze to see your reaction.

“I– Your Highness, that makes no sense–“

“Sorry, forget about it–“

“No, I’d love to!” you breathed hastily.

Noctis’s face lit up and his smile melted your lips into one too. “Really? I mean, great!”

“Great!” you repeated breathlessly.

Three seconds of awkward silence followed, while both you just smiled at each other.

Noctis began to fill it. “So–“

“So–“ you said at the same time and cleared your throat when he clamped his mouth shut. “I’m gonna go change now…”

“Yeah… yeah, I, uhh, I’ll come see you later then?” Noctis suggested in a hopeful tone.

“Sure, see you later then.”

With grin, that was too wide to be held back, you hurried back to your office. The week from hell didn’t feel so bad anymore.


	19. Celebration

“Got any food in here?” you asked slowly as you looked curiously around the prince’s apartment. It was your first time there. You placed your purse on the kitchen counter.

The place was a lot larger than your studio and neatly furnished. It was quite clear that Noctis spent most of his time at home in front of the big television – before it was a huge couch that eight people could’ve fit into. Game controllers and casings were scattered on the coffee table along with some stray soda cans and an opened chip bag.

“Yeah, I think I’ve got some cup noodles…” Noctis mumbled as he walked past you into the kitchenette.

He reached to the cupboard and stopped. “Uh, unless you’d rather order something,” he said sheepishly.

“Noodles sound great,” you flashed him an assuring smile.

Noctis boiled the water while you paced around the apartment, inspecting the things he had in the bookshelves and read some back covers of game casings. There was a slightly awkward silence between you two.

“Here,” Noctis said and carried the noodle cups to the dinner table.

“So much for celebrating,” you said jokingly to which Noctis reacted with a defeated frown.

You had been followed by a group of paparazzi for the most of the evening. Neither of you had felt like eating under the flashlights, so Noctis had suggested taking the celebratory date night early to his place. A month formally together with the prince and you already got to enjoy the best parts of publicity.

“Listen… I’m sorry that you had to go through that,” Noctis said quietly as you waited for the noodles to cook.

“Don’t worry about it, Noct.”

Noctis still looked miserable, so you grabbed the noodle cup and lifted it in the air to propose a toast.

“To us,” you said with a playful grin.

Noctis gave you an incredulous look before he cracked into a laugh. He lifted his cup.

“To us.”


	20. Danger

A short series of sharp knocks made your eyes flutter open into the darkness of your room. You lay still on the bed, confused as to what was the noise that had interrupted your slumber. The small numbers on your phone screen told you it was a little past three in the morning.

One sharp knock from the balcony door made you jolt and turn quickly.

There was someone behind the glass door, obscured by the sheer curtain. Your heart made a few loud thumps before you sighed in relief. You got up from the bed, walked to the balcony door and opened it to let your dear friend Noctis, the reckless prince of Lucis, inside.

“I know you’re okay, so I’m not even gonna ask,” you said quietly with a sigh and waved him in. At least your parents slept in the other side of the apartment behind multiple doors so they wouldn’t wake up to this nightly visit.

“Thanks–“

“ _But_ ,” you cut in sternly, “you know it’s dangerous for you to sneak out like this.”

Noctis let out a nervous chuckle as he sat on your bed. “Who said I snuck out?” He was wearing black sweatpants and a hoodie and looked like he had just run a mile.

_‘On a midnight run? Unlikely,’_ you thought. Your heart was still beating faster than what was comfortable, but that didn’t have anything to do with the scare. Suppressing the signals your body was waving at you in its infatuation was exhausting and kind of annoying.

You squinted at Noctis and crossed your arms on your chest.

“Okay, okay, maybe I did–“

“ _Please._ ”

Noctis offered you an apologizing grin. “Sheesh, relax. That scowl is gonna get stuck on your face at this rate.”

You stared daggers at him. How many times had you already told him not to make social calls in the middle of the night? You had school in the morning, for Ramuh’s sake. Luckily, you didn’t live that far from the Citadel, but it was a mystery to you how Noctis got to the seventh floor balcony to reach your room – mystery and also a bit flattering.

“So how are you?” he asked with a carefree smile.

You sighed and let your arms drop to your sides. “I was sleeping. As you well know.”

“You still got fever?” Noctis peered at you from the bed.

You grabbed your robe and pulled it over your pajama shorts and t-shirt. “Nope, I’ll come to school tomorrow.”

“Well that’s great,” Noctis said sounding relieved.

You walked over to him and sat cross-legged on the bed. “So what brings you here? Did something happen?” you inquired.

Noctis averted his gaze from you. “Nah, I was just bored…”

You shot him an incredulous look. “Uh-huh. And?”

_‘I wanted to see you?’_ Noctis thought, examining the posters you had on the walls to hide the slight pink decorating his cheeks. “…I needed some fresh air.”

“You won’t get much fresh air sitting in my room,” you pointed out with a dry chuckle. He had been coming over much often recently and you were genuinely worried about the prince’s safety and the consequences should he be caught. Your heartbeat was still loud like a drum.

“Don’t worry I got plenty coming here,” Noctis mumbled.

“Okay then, Highness. I should really go back to sleep. And you should too… Unless you wanna…” A devious smirk spread on your lips. He was so cute when he was obviously flustered.

“Unless what?” Noctis turned to ask from you. He had an adorable blush on his face. Again.

You cocked an eyebrow at him and your smirk widened. “Wanna explain why you’re red as a Gralean beetroot?”

“Buzz off,” the prince muttered, but couldn’t bite back the smile spreading on his lips.

You laughed. Yup, you knew it. He totally had a crush on you.


	21. Book

You sat in class, eating your lunch behind the open book standing on your desk. Your eyes were peeled on the small print and mathematical diagrams on the spread, trying to force your brain to imprint them into your memory. You shoveled the food into your mouth in a much unpolished manner, not paying attention to who might see or care.

So of course you were unaware of the sapphire blue pair eyeing at you curiously.

“Dude, how long are you just gonna stare at her?” Prompto whispered next to Noctis. He was absent-mindedly chewing down his own lunch while trying to figure out what was his friend trying to accomplish.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Noctis ripped his eyes off you. All he did was gaze longingly at you when you were too preoccupied to notice. Both of the guys were absolutely certain you had no idea that you had a secret admirer. You were far too busy preparing for the math test.

“Seriously, what are you waiting for? Go talk to her,” Prompto chuckled and poked at Noctis’s rib.

“Oww! Stop that!”

The commotion made you momentarily raise your gaze from the book and furrow your brows at the pair. They were at it again – always being so noisy. And since it was the prince of Lucis and his BFF, nobody cared enough to tell them to shut it.

Noctis flashed you an apologizing grin to which you replied with a deeper frown. After your eyes and mind returned to the math, Prompto had to bite his knuckle to stifle his giggles.

“Just go talk to her, Noct. She won’t bite.”

“Easy for you to say… Did you even see that? If looks could kill–“

“Pffft! Don’t be a chicken, dude.”

“I’m _not_!”

Prompto crossed his arms with a smug grin decorating his freckled face. He had Noctis cornered now. “Oh yeah? _Prove it_.”

Noctis inhaled deeply through his nose and got up from his seat.


	22. Water

It was one of the rare date nights you had with your husband, the king of Lucis. After a late dinner and a romantic stroll around the royal gardens, Noctis had said there was one more place he wanted to show you.

So he had brought you to the… pool.

“What are we doing here again?” you asked suspicious of his motivations. The night was warm and there was no one around. Not even the guards that usually patrolled the premises.

Noctis took off his jacket and shoes, and left them by the pool side. He flashed you a playful grin.

“We’re going for a midnight dip.” His voice was amused, but still inviting.

You chuckled. “No. That’s not going to happen,” you assured.

Noctis paced to you while undoing the buttons of his shirt. “Why not?”

He circled his arms around you, pulling you against him while maintaining eye contact. His body warmth was as pleasant as ever and the exposed skin of his chest felt nice under your hands. You had waited for the whole evening to feel it, but this wasn’t actually what you had had in mind.

”I’m gonna look like a moron,” you muttered and sighed, but the sigh soon turned into a giggle.

Noctis smiled, knowing that you would soon give up your protesting. “C’mon, we’ll look like morons together.”

You rolled your eyes at him while gently shaking your head.

Noctis pressed a kiss on your cheek. “C’mon, let’s be crazy…” he whispered into your ear.

“You’re not playing fair.”

“Should I?” You could feel Noctis’s smile against your auricle.

“…Urgh. Fine.”

You shook off your jacket and shot a glare at the smug grin on your dear husband’s face.


	23. Surprise

“I still can’t believe you managed to get the weekend free,” you said for what must have been the fifth time already.

“I know,” Noctis said and flashed a smile to you. His hand sought out yours and gave it a light squeeze. “Poor Ignis. He had a weak moment.”

You were sitting in a private lounge in Galdin Quay. The evening was warm and the sky was clear and littered with bright stars. The soft splashing and humming from the sea was your relaxing background music.

“So what would you like? Sex on the beach?” Noctis asked. With a straight face.

You blinked. “Pardon?”

You were married sure, but it was a little risky to suggest something like that as the king of Lucis.

As you stared at him, his expression began to crack into a grin.

“You… you’re just teasing me!” you huffed and pulled your hand to yourself, a bit upset at his jest and that he hadn’t been serious after all.

“I’m just teasing you,” Noctis admitted, not bothering to hide his amused grin anymore.

You crossed your arms. “Well, keep this up and it’s gonna be _no sex over the weekend_.”

“As if,” he replied immediately and smirked.

You tried your best not to give in under his charming smile, but it was futile. Noctis pulled you into a gentle kiss and the waiter, who was just about to come take your orders, decided to give you another minute.


	24. Beach

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sera was my mom's completely white Parson Russel Terrier, so she's the one I had in mind while writing this <3

The sun was shining brightly from a clear sky in Galdin Quay. You were out on the beach with your dog, Sera, playing fetch. Despite the heat, she kept bringing the ball to you again and again, and you were about to call it quits after one last throw.

You threw the ball with all the force you could muster and as far as you could along the shore line. The beach was almost empty, save for a few strollers and a man fishing on the pier.

Sera shot after the flying object, eyes fixated on the prize. With a light chuckle, you began to pace after her with the intention of taking her in the leash when she comes back.

Except that as soon as Sera saw the leash in your hands, she steered her course towards the pier with the ball securely in her mouth.

“Hey! Come here!” you tried to shout, but she was apparently playing deaf. You muttered curses under your breath and jogged after her.

Sera had dropped the ball at the feet of the fishing man, and was now staring expectantly at him. The man crouched to pet your dog and pick up the ball.

“I’m sorry! I guess she didn’t want to go home yet–“ you began to apologize. Sera gave a condescending look towards you. Though, the smug bastard looked thoroughly pleased with herself.

The man, too, turned to look at you with raised brows.

“Oh, he’s yours?” he said while scratching behind the dog’s ears with both hands.

You squinted at the familiarity of the young man. You had definitely seen him somewhere before. He was dressed in all black, which was peculiar under the heavy sunshine.

“Yeah. Haha, she saw the leash and darted here, sorry,” you explained with a nervous chuckle.

“No worries… It’s pretty hot out here, you should take it easy for now, buddy,” the man wheedled at your dog.

You shifted on your feet, eyes peeled on the raven black hair and striking side profile. He looked just like… just like… _Oh shit_.

You couldn’t do anything, but stare utterly stunned as the Lucian prince was petting your dog and throwing you wary, but curious smiles. The awkward silence grew longer by the second. You gripped the leash in your hand for help.

“She seems really friendly,” prince Noctis chatted. Sera licked his hand.

“What–? Oh, yeah. She is,” you took a couple hesitant steps and crouched next to the prince. “…Sorry about interrupting your fishing.” Also: The prince of Lucis fished? How curious.

“It’s okay. I was just about to quit anyways.”

Another awkward silence followed during which the prince kept scratching Sera’s ears. She welcomed eagerly the attention and you threw her a couple of squint-eyed looks.

“Uhm. We probably should go…” you began tentatively.

“Oh, right. Of course,” Noctis said and flashed you a careful half-smile.

You clipped the leash into your dog’s collar and stood up after the prince.

“So uh, we’ll be here tomorrow if you wanna play fetch with him…” you said and instantly mentally reprimanded yourself from saying something so stupid to the prince.

But Noctis’s face lit up. “Cool! I’ll look out for you then.”                   

With a wave of your hand, you skipped from the pier, trying to hold back your silly, wide smile.


	25. Dance

“What are you saying, Noct?”

“I don’t feel like it.”

You frowned at the prince lounging on the couch. “What do you mean _you don’t feel like it_? That’s BS.”

Noctis sighed audibly, almost dramatically, and side-eyed you before returning his attention to the mobile game. “We were there last year.”

“So? Come on, let’s just go and have fun!” you tried once more in a cheery tone. Where was Prompto when you needed him?

“No.”

You pouted. “Then I’ll go alone. I’m sure I’ll find some company in there…”

The prince glanced at you again, slightly disturbed by your words, but didn’t say anything. The hacking and smashing along with tension-rising music from the game filled the room.

“And I had such a nice dress looked up…” you continued, ignoring the prince’s worried expression. “I wonder if Ignis would be interested in becoming my plus one.”

You could barely hold back your smirk seeing Noctis’s brows furrow deeply and his eyes glace on the screen.

“It might be too awkward to tag along with Prompto and his date–“

“Prompto has a date?” Noctis yelped.

You turned to look at him over your shoulder. “Why, yes. Otherwise I would’ve asked him ages ago since _you don’t feel like it_.”

Noctis groaned and pocketed his phone. He crawled over to you on the couch and stopped to squat next to you, eyes fixated in yours.

“Go to the ball with me,” he said simply in the most earnest and apologizing tone he could conjure up. He took your hand into his.

You raised a brow at him. “What’s this? The prince of Lucis asking me– mmffpph!”

You smiled against his lips after recovering from the surprise of being kissed so suddenly.

“Please?” Noctis asked after pulling away from you, strands of his hair still close enough to tickle your face.

“I’d love to,” you wheezed.

“But I’m not–“

“Dancing. I know, Noctis.”


	26. Touch

You were glowing and floating, detached from the mattress and ruffled sheets. The aftershocks of your release were still drawing your breaths deeper, causing your chest to heave in the need of oxygen.

A set of gentle fingers swirled across the skin of your exposed shoulder. The touch was warm, alluring and travelled down your arm, and then skipped over to your waist, causing you to retract under the tickling sensation.

The hand stopped and you tilted you head to look at Noctis, who was resting his head on the pillow next to yours.

”Are you sensitive here?” he asked with a smile forming on his lips. His gaze was satisfied, half-hooded and almost dreamy.

”I’m pretty sure everyone is.” The hormone high of your post-coital bliss made you smile like a lovesick fool.

Noctis scooted his naked body closer to yours, embracing you under his arm and resting his chin over your shoulder. He pressed a kiss in the crook of your neck and inhaled deeply.

You turned to face him and captured his lips in a sweet kiss.


	27. Dark

“Do you trust me?” Noctis asked right next to your ear. You felt his breath tickling your neck and tightened your grip around his arm.

You let out an exasperated sigh that turned into a chuckle. You couldn’t see a thing because of the fold over your eyes.

“I’ve done it before and it usually only gets me in trouble,” you quipped back.

Noctis rolled his eyes towards the ceiling, but a smile spread on his lips. “Alright then, let’s cause some trouble.”

He nudged you gently forward to make you walk. Noctis had picked you up with his black Audi after calling only to say there was something he wanted to show you. In the car, he had given you the blindfold with a weighty request to put it on.

“Seriously, Noct, where are we going–“ you tried to ask for the umpteenth time. You were most likely in an apartment building, but other than that, you had no idea of your whereabouts.

“Shh. You’ll see soon enough,” Noctis hummed and continued guiding you forward in the hallway.

“Wait here,” he suddenly said and you let go of his arm. You could hear him rummaging through the pockets of his jeans and a set of keys jingling quietly. He entered a key into a door lock and you tried to focus on your sense of hearing.

“Can I take this off now?” you asked, curious to see where he had brought you.

“Hold on,” Noctis replied and took your hand. He helped you through the doorway and stopped to untie the blindfold.

Before you could see what was in front of you, a familiar crowd burst into a shout: “SURPRISE!”

You jolted from the startle and began laughing. All of your friends were beaming in the living room of an apartment you had not visited before. There was huge banner with your name on it across the wall behind them.

Noctis curled his arms around you and embraced you while you still stood stunned in the vestibule.

“Congrats, babe,” he whispered into your ear and kissed your cheek.


	28. Light

You got up from the couch, leaving Noctis cold, alone and confused. You had been watching a movie together, almost dozing off on a lazy Saturday evening.

“Where are you going?” he yelled after you.

You peeked from the doorway and grinned. “I’m gonna go take a bath…”

Noctis’s brows raised and his mouth opened, but nothing came out.

You laughed mirthfully at his puzzled expression. “Offer revoking in three… two–“

He had already shot up and ran after you before you could count to two.

You lit a few candles and began laying them on the bathtub rims and on top of the washing machine as the water was running. Noctis closed the door and began undressing. You threw your clothes on the closed toilet lid and let Noctis help you step into the water.

The water was so warm and soothing it made you shiver. You settled on the opposite ends of the tub. Noctis raked his messy hair down as you focused on relaxing every muscle in your body.

The candlelight danced on the walls of the bathroom and the soft splashing of the water echoed from the glazed tiles.

“Mm, this is nice,” you hummed content and let your eyes dip closed.


	29. Phone

“C’mon use King’s Might! You can still kill it!” you cheered on, peering over Noctis’s shoulder. A bead of sweat was forming over his brow and his fingers moved swiftly on the screen, making his character evade the fiery blast by a hairbreadth.

Prompto was sitting on the edge of his seat, tapping furiously on his phone screen. His brows were heavily furrowed in concentration.

You, the designated healer of the group as Maerklyn, had died in King’s Knight because _someone_ playing Thanatos hadn’t bothered to shield you while you were about to cast Cleansing Inferno.

Three seconds passed. Prompto’s warrior character, Shapur, died too in a wave of flames. Prompto let out a frustrated groan. It was all on Noctis now.

“I’m telling you, we need a fourth player–“ Prompto began whining again and put his phone down on the coffee table as if he never wanted to touch the device again.

“Shut up!” you quipped and turned back to stare at Noctis’s screen.

The boss had only pixels left in its health bar, but so did Noctis. You were holding your breath. Why hadn’t you called Ignis to join in the co-op? It was already your third try on killing the boss with just the three of you.

In one final last-ditch attempt, Noctis cast Limiter Release. His thumbs hovered in the air while the animation played.

His eyes widened when the dragon on the screen finally fell down.

A second of utter silence ensued before all three of you jumped up and cheered, definitely waking up the neighbors.


	30. Season

Noctis leaned closer to you, boxing you in between his body and the wall behind you. Your heart was going crazy inside your ribcage and your breathing hitched into your throat. This was not how you had imagined the scene would play out. Not when you had met the dorky, but charming prince at Prompto’s Halloween party and he had offered to walk you home after an evening’s worth of chatting about your surprisingly shared interests.

“Can I kiss you?” Noctis asked quietly. A hint of pink rose to his cheeks. The piercing gaze of his bright blue eyes was fixated into yours and as much as you wanted to, you couldn’t look away. Undoubtedly, he was super cute and just your type. But he was also of royal blood.

At least it made a good pun considering your choice of costume as a vampire.

“Haha, of course, _Your Highness_. Who would say no to that?” you teased the prince, but his expression didn’t change.

“You… You’re serious?” you asked blanched.

Noctis nodded. His scent was making you dizzy.

”I don’t even know you. Like… w-what’s your favorite color?” you stammered utterly nervous.

Noctis pushed his mouth against yours. You could only think how his lips were soft and warm.

He tilted his head and moved his hand behind your neck. You were frozen still. It was hard to focus on any sensible thought other than that you were being kissed by the crown prince.

It felt… nice. A tender feeling was itching inside your stomach.

You were starting to wonder for how long exactly Noctis was going to kiss you.

Then he pulled back. You felt the hot veil of blush across your face. You could probably outshine a Gralean beetroot with the shade of red.

Noctis placed his index finger on your cheek.

“ _This_ is my favorite color.”


	31. Free Choice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> October is coming to its end so this is the last drabble for Noctober. I’m really amazed that I actually could do this and write something for each day. It was a really fun challenge! I hope you have enjoyed reading!

You rubbed your temples in exhaustion when a series of happy beeps interrupted your thoughts. With a shaky sigh, you reached out to read the chat message.

“ _’Come to the roof’_? Is this a joke?” you huffed aloud. Maybe your dear husband had finally lost his mind, but the king’s wish was your order so you got up, stretched a bit and headed towards the elevators.

It wasn’t that late yet, but the sky was already satin black and the bright stars littered the canopy stretched above you. Atop the Citadel was the only place in Insomnia where you could really see the stars because of the light pollution obscuring the view from down on the streets. The noise of traffic barely carried so far up.

You looked around and spotted Noctis sitting near the edge of the roof. Only a small source of white light was emanating from his chosen place. You squinted to see better in the darkness as you walked closer.

“Hey, what’s going on?” you asked.

“Oh, hey. I didn’t hear you…”

Noctis stoop up and took your hand. He pecked a kiss on your cheek. He had been sitting on a pile of pillows, fiddling with his cellphone, which had been the source of light. You noticed a stack of several thick blankets and a thermal bottle next to his seat.

“Please, sit,” Noctis said gently and helped you sink down onto a pillow. He spread a blanket on your shoulders and you offered him a smile as a thank you.

“What are we doing here?” you asked, the gentle expression still lingering on your lips.

“It’s been a long week, so I figured we could take the night off,” he said grabbing the bottle and began to open it carefully.

“A night off to do… what?” you asked and watched as Noctis poured steaming liquid into a mug. It smelled heavenly – crispy and sweet at the same time.

“Well…”–he offered the mug to you–“It’s awkward that I have to say it, but let’s start with just watching the stars.” He was smirking playfully.

“Sounds good,” you replied and kissed him before taking the hot drink.


End file.
